Stuff I Like: DriverMax

I’m not usually one to fall for gimmicky applications when it comes to drivers and updates so when I stumbled onto DriverMax the first time around, I dismissed it as an application aimed at the “introductory” level of PC users.

Delving deeper, I realized it could become a handy tool as I’ve been known to modify drivers and try various versions until I find one that simply works; a pain to redo after a format.

That’s where DriverMax comes to the rescue! Not only does this handy little application backup all of your drivers to a location of your choice (and I mean ALL of them), it also keeps track of your driver versions and notifies you when updates are available. When was the last time you’ve updated your USB controller drivers? Yeah, I don’t know either, but they were pretty badly outdated. Granted, it is not likely to change anything unless you’re having performance or reliability issues, but it’s nice to know your system is up to par, isn’t it? On my home laptop, DriverMax identified around 120 drivers and updated a dozen obscure ones I had never bothered to track down.

Oh, and did I mention it was free?

While replacing drivers is usually a pretty straightforward process, DriverMax comes in handy when you’re using modified drivers or simply figured out what version works best on your system. I’ve yet to find any show-stopping issues with this application, other than annoying pop-ups that appear from time to time when the application runs in the background.

DriverMax receives the Steel Frog’s Seal of Approval™ for being one mean mutha of a handy tool.

Here are a couple of screenshots of the application at work, courtesy of the DriverMax website: